Review: Good Girl by Lauren Layne

Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny’s suddenly one of the town’s biggest stars—and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she’s barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering—and serious heat.

Noah really should tell Jenny that he’s Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, the owner of the estate where the feisty country singer has made her spoiled self at home. But the charade gives Noah a much-needed break from his own troubles, and before long, their verbal sparring is indistinguishable from foreplay. But as sizzling nights give way to quiet pillow talk, Noah begins to realize that Jenny’s almost as complicated as he is. To fit into each other’s lives, they’ll need the courage to face their problems together—before the outside world catches up to them.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

A country music star who crosses all genres and whose relationship status is hounded by the paparazzi? Does this sound like one of today’s most popular music stars? *Cough* Taylor Swift…

I have to admit the minute I began reading Good Girl I began switching the name Jenny to Taylor in my head. Obviously, Lauren Layne did a pretty awesome job at depicting a true to life country music star on the run from the headlines. Jenny was sweet and pretty innocent. She was trying to do the right thing for her reputation and self by retreating from the public eye to a rural Louisiana mansion. Unfortunately, people wanted to believe what they wanted to believe about her. It definitely made me want to second guess all those sensational celebrity “news” stories out there. And honestly, this book couldn’t have been read at any more perfect time than right around a real life country music star’s real life breakup. *Cough* Taylor Swift.

Jenny’s retreat wasn’t as solitary as she was hoping, though. Grouchy caretaker Noah made Jenny’s much-needed alone time pretty impossible. He was constantly throwing her supposed indescretion in her face and ruining her solidarity. He was crass, abrasive and downright harsh. I had a love-hate relationship with him. When Noah was a jerk, I couldn’t stand him. When he was sweet, I loved him. I, like Jenny, had whiplash from his ever-changing moods.

I absolutely loved the other supporting characters in Good Girl. Noah’s best friends, Vaughn and Finn were so much fun! I loved the relationship between the three of them. I would love more books in this series about them. (Hint hint, L.L.!) And Noah’s ex Yvonne… Man, she was crazy but I loved her! She added a really fun dimension to the story.

All in all, Good Girl was a very cute and funny celebrity romance. It wasn’t my favorite LL New Adult romance, but I did really enjoy it. There were some ups and downs (due to Noah’s jerky behavior), but I was smiling ear to ear by the end. I will never think of pink zip ties the same. Sorry, you have to read it yourself to discover what that’s all about! And I suggest you do! Good Girl is part of a series, but the first book doesn’t have to be read before reading this one. It’s a standalone and does not have any characters or relations to the first book in the series.